The Scourge of Photography

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. To proceed: This is a brief guide for my brothers who find it difficult to respond to the specious arguments of the common folk when they advise them about tasweer. We ask Allaah to make it a means of easing your advising people and rebuking them in this matter. And Allaah is the One whose help is sought. File link: click here To read directly:

    بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم وعليكم السلام ورحمة الله وبركاته جـ - من نسب إلينا أن المحرم من التصوير هو المجسم وأن غير ذلك غير حرام فقد كذب علينا ونحن نرى أنه لا يجوز لبس ما فيه صورة سواء كان من لباس الصغار أو من لباس الكبار وأنه لا يجوز اقتناء الصور للذكرى أو غيرها إلا ما دعت إليه الضرورة أو الحاجة إليه مثل التابعية والرخصة والله الموفق . كتبه محمد الصالح العثيمين في ١١ / ٦ / ١٤١٢ هـ توقيع الشيخ هذا قول الشيخ، أو آخر أقواله. فلينصح من يحتج بقوله لتحليل التصوير، وأنه بهذا يكذب على الشيخ، وسوف يكون خصمه يوم القيامة. أتريد مجابهته أمام الله؟ الرجل جبل من الجبال، كتب الله له القبول، أتدري هول مصيبتك لو حاجك أمام الله؟ إن كنت جاهلا وبلغك هذا، فلا بأس عليك إن شاء الله، ولكن تب وتراجع وانشر الحق كما نشرت الباطل، وثوابك على الله. ---------------------- Bismillaahi ar-Rahmaani ar-Raheem, wa 'alaykum as-Salaamu wa rahmatu Allaahi wa barakaatuh A – Whoever attributed to us that what is forbidden regarding photography is only the three-dimensional (sculptural) and that other forms are not ...

طرفة قيل لأحد العوام: التصوير الضوئي حرام. فقال: لا، قد قال ابن عثيمين بجوازه. فقيل له: ولكن قال الألباني بحرمته، وكذلك ابن باز. فقال العامي: الألباني عندي مجهول، فلا أستطيع أخذ فتواه، وابن باز كان أعمى، فهو لا يستطيع أن يعرف ما هو التلفاز أصلا. الله المستعاااااان... A joke A common man was told: Photography is haraam. He replied: No, Ibn Uthaymeen said it is halaal. He was told: But al-Alabaany said it is haraam, and so did Ibn Baaz. He replied: I don't know who al-Albaany is, so I can't take his fatwaa, and Ibn Baaz was blind, so he couldn't see what a TV was even. Allaahu-l-Musta'aaaan.... https://t.me/fitnantTasweer/67

" هي ليست مضاهاة لخلق الله، بل نقل لخلق الله كما هو". يا سبحان الله، ما معنى النقل إن لم يكن مضاهاة؟! نقلت شكل الصورة باستعمال الآلة، فتكونت صورة ثانية لذاك المخلوق. ضاهيت خلق الله. أما أنك تجهل كيف ترسم الآلة ثم تفتي اعتمادا على هذا الجهل...فالله المستعان. "It's not an imitation of Allaah's creation, it's just copying it as it is". Subhaana Allaah, what is the meaning of "copying" if it's not imitation?! You copied the image using the machine, and got a second image of that creature. You imitated Allah's creation. But being ignorant about how that machine draws and then giving a fatwaa based on that...then may Allaah help us.

If photography were merely a reflection, there would have been no need to invent it, and a mirror would have sufficed. This forces one to say that photography is a fixed, preserved reflection, which contradicts both sense and reason. It is the same as saying that realistic painting is the fixing of a reflection on paper using brush and colors. Same thing. One is merely deceived by the precision of the machine’s drawing, nothing more, nothing less. Wallahi the truth is clear.

To photograph = to draw using light. There are no shadows or reflections in this equation. The only reason someone would insert such terms is because they do not understand how a machine uses light to produce images — and that is purely scientific. No expert says that photography is like a mirror, or that a camera traps shadows. None. The only people in the world who make that claim are Muslims who say drawing by hand is forbidden, but photography is not. Isn’t that enough reason to stop and rethink one’s position on this matter — especially when grave punishment awaits image makers?

One may ask: why write such posts? Because it has become absurd that many scholars describe photography as merely "shadow capturing", or more faithfully, "shadow trapping". And now, saying that "photographing animate beings is forbidden" is treated as insanity. It is a duty to resist such false beliefs.